Posts Tagged ‘my writing process’

Fab writer, good friend and sister Brit Babe, Tabitha Rayne, tagged me for this blog hop Q and A fresh for 2014. You can check out her answers here. As you know I always sneak in through the back door of every New Year anyway, so February is when I finally catch up with all those new beginnings, and here is a peek at some of what I hope for in 2014. I’ll tag 2 more unsuspecting writers at the end of this post!

If you could achieve anything with your writing in 2014, what would it be?

I would love to sell my Epic Fantasy trilogy and branch out into the wider world of fiction. I adore writing erotica and erotic fiction, and I can’t imagine not doing it, but I think like so many writers, I want ‘adventures in writing,’ and my wonderful characters in the first novel of my trilogy, The Choosing, have given me huge adventure and loads of dark, edgy fun in a new world.

There’ll be another book coming out in The Mount series at the end of this year as well, and I would love to get back to work on Eye of the Beholder, the burlesque play I’m working on with Moorita Encantada. So much to write, so little time!

What are the top three demons you must slay to achieve your goals in 2014?

The demon of self-doubt is always a biggie. No matter what I achieve, no matter what happens, I’m always and ever neurotic and there’s always room for a little more uncertainty.

The demon of Tunnel-vision forever haunts me and hounds me. I need more balance in my life, more play time, more time to read for pleasure and enjoy a little breathing space. I know that the Tunnel-vision demon would be way less of a problem if I didn’t love what I do SO much, but still, I write better and am more creative when the rest of my world is a little more ordered and balanced.

The negativity demon is a demon I’ve fought with all of my life. I don’t just see the glass as half-empty, but I often see it cracked and dirty as well. Sigh! I suppose seeing the cloud in every silver lining helps me prepare mentally for the worst and then allows me to be pleasantly surprised when things aren’t so bad. But really … Negative Nelly is very neurotic!

Name three things that inspire you to write

Just about anything can inspire me to write. It doesn’t take much. But things that are guaranteed to inspire in my life are long walks, working in the veg garden and, believe it or not, ironing. Of the three, I most definitely prefer the first two.

What advice do you have for a new writer who is considering writing fiction?

First of all, get the words down. ALL of them! Push on to the end, never go back, never quit, never stress about how bad what you’ve written is. First drafts are almost always crap. That’s how it’s meant to be. But you have to get something on the page before you can make it shine. First and most important rule of writing is WRITE!

Secondly, don’t ever give up. Like most things worth doing, perfecting the writing craft and telling stoies and getting them published takes lots of hard work and lots of time. That means the people who have made it, the people whose novels you enjoy reading are the ones who didn’t give up, the ones who got that mountain of rejections and just kept pushing. DON’T GIVE UP!

That’s me in through the back door of 2014, and now keep an eye out for these lovely writers and their 2014 plans.

I’d like to thank the fabulous Primula Bond for inviting me along on The Writing Process blog hop. It’s a nice opportunity to share with my readers what I’m up to and how my writing process works. I’ve been asked to answer four basic questions and then pass on the baton to three fabulous writers. Here’s a peekie-weekie into my writing process.

What I’m working on

At the moment I’m working on the final rewrite of book one of an epic fantasy trilogy. This WIP is a long time coming and not in my usual genre, which means I’m more than a little bit nervous about putting it out there. But I’m also very excited because it’s been dear to my heart for a long time now, and something I’ve not had the time to spend with because of my full schedule of writing erotic romance. Now I’m in between novels and decided in the new year it’s time to take the plunge and finish up The Choosing.

How my work differs from others of its genre

Though The Choosing is completely out of the erotic romance genre in which I usually write, it’s not a genre in which I’m inexperienced. It’s just one in which I’m not yet published. What I love about writing epic fantasy is that I totally create the world which my characters inhabit. Though I’ve written paranormal erotic romance where the rules of reality are changed, in fantasy, the world itself is changed, and that world often exerts as much influence on the characters as the characters do on each other. Though there are erotic elements in the novel, and sex is one of the driving forces, The Choosing isn’t an erotic novel.

Why I write erotic romance

I write erotica and erotic romance because I enjoy it. I started out writing erotica because it was something I was good at and there was a market. Nine novels, three novellas and countless short stories later, I write it because I enjoy it, and I love the fact that I can ‘leave the bedroom doors open.’

How my writing process works

I used to have a very specific writing process. I walked in the morning and I wrote the rest of the day. That’s a simplification, but that’s pretty much it. Now my method is much more fluid. I write when I write. I’ve never had any trouble writing anytime, anyplace. I don’t need specific conditions. I’ve written on the train, on the bus, in the loo, on a walk, and every place in between.

Having said that, my writing process for a novel is still pretty structured. I begin by walking the story. Then I write a blurb and a very loose chapter by chapter synopsis, which can be very fluid and subject to change as needed. When that’s done, I write the first draft fast and furiously. The second draft is much more detailed, in which I sculpt and shape the story so that it’s tight, pacey and every word is what I want it to be. My final draft is simply an out loud read-through of the entire novel. If what I’ve written doesn’t read out well, then it won’t flow well to the reader’s eyes either. It’s the best way I know to pick up problems before the manuscript gets sent out. I never send anything out that hasn’t had a complete out loud read through.

Next Monday, check out the writing process of three of my very fave writers over on their sites and get the latest of what they’re up to.

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over 100 publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

Tabitha Rayne has been told she is quirky, lovely and kinky – not necessarily in that order or by the same person. She writes erotic romance and as long as there’s a love scene – she’ll explore any genre.

Her short stories are included in anthologies from Xcite, Oysters & Chocolate, Cleis, Burning Books Press, Ravenous Romance, Mischief, and House of Erotica. She has novels with Beachwalk Press and Xcite Books.

Victoria Blisse is a Mother, Wife, Christian, Manchester United Fan and Award Winning Erotica Authoress. She is also the editor of several Bigger Briefs collections, and the co-editor of the fabulous Smut Alfresco and Smut in the City and Smut by the Sea Anthologies.

Victoria is also one of the brains behind the fabulous Smut by the Sea Event taking place at Scarborough Library (UK) on the 22nd June 2013. A day dedicated to Erotica with a mini erotic marketplace and lots of Author Readings, Fun Giveaways and Exciting Talks.

She is equally at home behind a laptop or a cooker (She is TEB’s Resident “Naked Chef”) and she loves to create stories, poems, cakes and biscuits that make people happy. She was born near Manchester, England and her northern English quirkiness shows through in all of her stories. Passion, love and laughter fill her works, just as they fill her busy life.